Bo Michael Tretow (20 August 1944 – 20 May 2025) was a Swedish

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, best known for his work with the Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

(1972–1982), and with the musical ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

''. He also composed several themes and

jingles A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

for Swedish national radio and television. Tretow was born in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

. He began working at Metronome Studios in Stockholm in 1967. In 1970 he started working in earnest with

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

and

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...

and the three men got on well together. He later worked at GLN (Glenmark) studios for two years before coming to ABBA's Polar Studios in 1978, where he eventually became studio manager. Tretow experimented with different recording techniques, and played an essential part in creating the "ABBA sound".Michael B. Tretow's biography
, ABBA World, accessed 12 May 2010 Tretow died on 20 May 2025, aged 80, his son Rasmus Tretow and his wife Malin Hertzman confirmed to Swedish newspaper ''

Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...

''. All four members of the band paid tribute to Tretow, with Benny Andersson saying: "You meant more to us four in ABBA than anyone else... I hope and believe that you felt it throughout all the years that have passed since we worked (and continuously laughed) in the studio. Our music lives on, it seems, and you are the one who made it timeless. You were a fantastic inspirer and joy-maker. And the finest sound engineer the world has ever seen."

Discography

As an artist

* ''Mikael & Michael'' (1966, with Mikael Ramel) * ''Let's boogie'' (1976) * '' Caramba'' (1981, with Ted Gärdestad) * ''Michael B. Tretow'' (1982) * ''Tomteland'' (1985) * ''Den makalösa manicken'' (1986, under the pseudonym Professorn) * ''Hystereo Hi-lites'' (1989) * ''Trafik-Trolle'' (early 1990s) * ''Greatest Hits'' (1999)

As producer

* Lena Andersson: ''Det Bästa Som Finns'' (1977) *

: '' Gracias Por La Música'' (1980) * ABBA: '' ABBA Live'' (1986) * Big Money: ''Lost In Hollywood'' (1992) * Big Money: ''Moonraker'' (1994)

As engineer

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog (; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a former member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 Agnetha Fältskog (album), self-titled debut alb ...

: '' Agnetha Fältskog Vol. 2'' (1969) *

: '' Lycka'' (1970) * Agnetha Fältskog: '' Som jag är'' (1970) * Lena Andersson: ''Lena 15'' (1971) * Lena Andersson: ''Lena'' (1971) * Agnetha Fältskog: '' När en vacker tanke blir en sång'' (1975) * Ted Gärdestad: '' Undringar'' (1972) * Lena Andersson: ''12 Nya Visor'' (1972) * Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida (ABBA): '' Ring Ring'' (1972–1973) * Ted Gärdestad: '' Ted'' (1973) * Svenne & Lotta: ''Oldies But Goodies'' (1973) * ABBA (Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida): '' Waterloo'' (1974) * Ted Gärdestad: '' Upptåg'' (1974) * Svenne & Lotta: ''2/Bang-A-Boomerang'' (1975, engineer and co-producer) * ABBA: ''

'' (1975) * ABBA: ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (1975–1976) * Agnetha Fältskog: '' Elva kvinnor i ett hus'' (1975) *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...

: ''

Frida ensam ''Frida ensam'' () is the second studio album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It was first released by Polar Music in 1975 while Lyngstad was a member of the pop group ABBA and produced by her then-fiancé and fellow ABBA member, Benny Ander ...

'' (1975) * ABBA: '' Arrival'' (1976) * Ted Gärdestad: ''

Franska Kort ''Franska Kort'' is the fourth studio album from Swedish singer/songwriter Ted Gärdestad, released in 1976 through Polar Music. It contains the hits "Angela", "Chapeau-Claque", "När Showen Är Slut" and "Klöversnoa". The album was produced by ...

'' (1976, engineer and co-producer) * Svenne & Lotta: ''Letters'' (1976, engineer and co-producer) * ABBA: '' The Album'' (1977) * ABBA: ''

Voulez-Vous ''Voulez-Vous'' (; French for "Do you want (to)?") is the sixth studio album by the Swedish supergroup ABBA. Released on 23 April 1979, the album yielded five hits, all of them big 1979 singles in Britain – " Chiquitita", " Does Your Mother ...

'' (1979) * ABBA: '' Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' (1979) * ABBA: '' Super Trouper'' (1980) * Ted Gärdestad: '' I'd Rather Write a Symphony'' (1980, engineer and co-producer) * Agnetha & Linda: '' Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus'' (1980/1981, engineer and co-producer) * ABBA: '' The Visitors'' (1981) * Ted Gärdestad: '' Stormvarning'' (1981, engineer and co-producer) * ABBA: '' The Singles: The First Ten Years'' (1982) * Agnetha Fältskog: '' Wrap Your Arms Around Me'' (1983) * Various Artists: Original Cast Recording, Musical ''

'' (1984) * Agnetha Fältskog: '' Eyes of a Woman'' (1985) * Gemini: '' Gemini'' (1985) * Agnetha & Christian: '' Kom följ med i vår karusell'' (1987, engineer and co-producer) * Gemini: '' Geminism'' (1987) * ABBA: '' ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits'' (1992) * ABBA: '' More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits'' (1993) * ABBA: ''

Thank You For The Music "Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album, '' The Album'' (1977), and was released as a double-A sided single with "Eagle" in May 1978 in limited territories ...

'' (1994)

References

* Michael B Tretow, article,

Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...

Uppslagsverk - NE.se

External links

*
45 Singles
at 45cat * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tretow, Michael B. 1944 births 2025 deaths People from Norrköping Swedish audio engineers Swedish record producers